When the International Olympic Committee sent out its formal invitations in July 2023 to countries around the world to participate in this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, Russia and Belarus had noticeably been snubbed over their aggressions in Ukraine.
Now, with the #BanIsrael campaign, Palestinian athletes and activists are calling on the International Olympic Committee to hold Israel to the same standard by excluding it from the 2024 Paris Olympics this July.
“It’s time to put an end to Western-dominated sporting bodies’ shameful business-as-usual approach with genocidal Israel,” Balata Youth Center, a professional football team that competes in the West Bank Premier League, said in a statement. One of its own players, 16-year-old Said Odeh, was shot and killed by Israeli soldiers in 2021.
Balata Youth Center, located in the Balata refugee camp in Nablus, is part of a coalition of more than 300 Palestinian sports clubs and civil society groups behind the campaign, organized by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel.
“It’s time to put an end to Western-dominated sporting bodies’ shameful business-as-usual approach with genocidal Israel,” one Palestinian sports club says.
The coalition of both men’s and women’s teams argues that allowing Israel participation in the upcoming Olympic games while they are “in the midst of genocide … would signal to the international community that the IOC approves of the gravest of war crimes” — from the use of white phosphorus to indiscriminate bombing of civilians to targeted strikes against homes, hospitals, journalists, houses of worship and civilian infrastructure.
Since Oct. 7, Israel has killed more than 25,000 Palestinians in Gaza, most of whom are women and children, and damaged more than half of all structures in the region. Among those killed are Palestinian Olympic football team coach Hani Al Masdar and at least 85 other athletes, according to the Palestine Football Association.
Among the buildings destroyed is the Palestinian Olympic committee’s office in Gaza. And Gaza City’s Al Yarmouk football stadium was also the site of several shocking videos of the IDF stripping, detaining and tying up Palestinian men and boys. According to the nonprofit Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, Israel detained hundreds of Palestinians, including dozens of women, at the stadium.
“This blatant and scandalous violation of all covenants is added to a long series of violations against Palestinian sports, including the killing and arrest of players,” the Palestinian Football Association, which has called on the IOC and FIFA to probe crimes against Palestinian sports and athletes, said in a statement. “This is a crime that the international sports institutions cannot tolerate, silence and ignore.”
After Israel’s bombardment of Gaza began Oct. 7, the IOC issued a statement condemning “discriminatory behavior” against Israeli athletes, saying “athletes cannot be held responsible for the actions of their governments,” and warning of “swift action” in response to any incidents.
According to the Israeli media site Ynet, about 150 Israeli Olympic athletes serve in the country’s army.
“Creative global campaigns to exclude apartheid South Africa made a significant contribution to dismantling that country’s oppressive regime,” the Balata football club said. “We need to employ the same level of pressure, from the boardrooms to the streets, to force the IOC to end its hypocrisy and ban Israel.”
Shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began, the IOC quickly imposed comprehensive sanctions on Russia and issued a full-throated condemnation of the countries’ involvement in “the senseless war.”
The organization openly expressed its solidarity with the Ukrainian Olympic community, writing, “They are in our hearts and thoughts” and launching a humanitarian assistance fund for Ukraine.
The IOC’s board urged all international sports federations not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials to participate in their events; ultimately, the IOC opted to leave the door open for athletes who do not support the Ukraine war, though they can only compete as “neutrals.”
“Creative global campaigns to exclude apartheid South Africa made a significant contribution to dismantling that country’s oppressive regime. We need to employ the same level of pressure, from the boardrooms to the streets, to force the IOC to end its hypocrisy and ban Israel.”
Under the Olympic Charter, the IOC commits to “respect … internationally recognized human rights and universal fundamental ethical principles within the remit of the Olympic Movement.” That standard has not been upheld for the Palestinian sports community as it has faced systemic repression, apartheid, war crimes and now a genocide, campaign organizers say.
Campaign organizers say Israel’s myriad violations against the Palestinian sports community include the Israel Football Association, a FIFA affiliate, sponsoring football matches on illegal settlements in the West Bank that cannot be accessed by Palestinians; a long record of attacks on Palestinian sports infrastructure, including the headquarters of Palestine’s National Paralympic Committee, even in the midst of sports matches; and blocking Palestinian athletes and their equipment from Olympic games and other competitions.
Rather than sanctioning Israel, campaigners argue, international sports federations have instead taken action against “sports federations and individual athletes who dare to speak out against Israel’s human rights abuses or who take moral stances in solidarity with Palestinians.”
Earlier this month, the International Ice Hockey Federation made waves when it decided to bar Israeli teams from international tournaments “due to concerns for the safety and security of all the participants.” But following backlash, and a complaint from the Israel Olympic Committee, the IIHF has rescinded its move and is allowing Israel’s Under-20 team to participate in a championship tournament in Bulgaria.
Last year, FIFA stripped Indonesia of the right to host the Under-20 football World Cup over the island of Bali’s refusal to host Israel’s team. In 2021, after an Algerian judoka pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics to avoid competing against an Israeli opponent, the International Judo Federation banned him and his coach for a decade.
“While our people are being subjected to this televised crime of genocide, FIFA’s inaction is a green light for Israel to continue its genocide against Palestinians,” the Palestinian BDS National Committee wrote in a statement last month.
